Abandoning Windows, blocking Teams, 80,000 people urgently migrating. The French government announces "de-Microsoftization" and a full switch to Linux.

When a country suddenly decides to switch a large number of government computers from Windows to Linux, do you think it's a "technological upgrade" or a "political signal"?

France's answer is: it's both, and the latter is more important.

In the past few weeks, a series of seemingly scattered policies are piecing together a clear picture - from abandoning Windows and switching to Linux, to comprehensively replacing collaboration tools and rebuilding data platforms, France is systematically promoting an unprecedented "digital de - dependence campaign".

And the keyword for this campaign is just four words: digital sovereignty.

01

An Unusual Cross - Departmental Meeting

On April 8th, under the promotion of the French Prime Minister, a high - level cross - departmental seminar was held in Paris.

This meeting was led by DINUM, the French government's digital affairs department, in conjunction with several key institutions, including:

● ANSSI (National Information System Security Agency)

● Direction générale des entreprises (General Directorate of Enterprises)

● Direction des achats de l'État (General Directorate of State Purchases)

Those attending the meeting were not only government departments but also representatives of public institutions and private enterprises. The high - level nature of this meeting shows that this is not just an IT decision but a "national - level mobilization".

In a public statement, David Amiel, the French Minister of Digital Affairs, was very straightforward: France must "regain control of its own digital destiny" and can no longer accept having its data and infrastructure in the hands of others.

02

The First Step: "De - Windows" from the Operating System

Among all the measures, the most attention - grabbing one is the adjustment at the operating system level. The French Digital Affairs Department DINUM clearly stated that it will gradually phase out Windows and switch to Linux.

This change, seemingly just a "system switch", actually involves:

● The software ecosystem of government terminals needs to be migrated as a whole.

● Internal systems, office software, and operation and maintenance systems all need to be reconstructed.

● The skill system of IT personnel also needs to be reshaped.

Why choose Linux? The reason is simple: it is open - source, controllable, customizable, and not bound by a single vendor. In contrast, Windows is behind Microsoft, which means that to some extent, system rules, update rhythms, price systems, and even security policies are in the hands of an external company.

For ordinary enterprises, this may just be a cost issue; but for a country, it's a risk issue.

03

The Second Step: Replacing Collaboration Tools for 80,000 People

The operating system is just the foundation. What has a more direct impact on daily work is the collaboration tools.

The French National Health Insurance Agency (CNAM) has announced that it will migrate 80,000 employees from existing tools to the government's unified digital platform. The new system includes: Tchap (internal communication), Visio (video conferencing), and FranceTransfert (file transfer). Among them, Visio is built on the open - source video conferencing system Jitsi and is mainly used to replace Microsoft's Teams.

Obviously, the essence of this step is to shift from "using American SaaS" to a "self - built + open - source controllable system".

04

The Third Step: The Most Sensitive Area - Comprehensive Migration of Medical Data

If the office system is still on the "periphery", then the data platform is the core. The French government has clearly stated that it will migrate the national health data platform to a "trusted domestic solution" by the end of 2026.

This decision is extremely sensitive because it involves medical data (with a very high level of privacy), national - level data governance, and control of cloud infrastructure. In the current global environment, this step is particularly crucial.

Because reality has proven that once relying on an external technology system, not only may services be restricted and data access be controlled, but the entire system also faces the risk of "supply disruption".

05

Not Just France, Europe is Turning Collectively

France's actions are not an isolated event. In fact, in recent years, the whole of Europe has been swept by a wave of "technological de - dependence":

● In April 2024, the northern German state of Schleswig - Holstein migrated 30,000 PCs from Windows to Linux.

● In June last year, the Danish Digital Affairs Department officially announced that it would completely stop using Microsoft - related products by this autumn and fully switch to open - source alternatives: the operating system will be changed to Linux, and the office software suite will be LibreOffice.

● In October last year, Austria's BMWET officially announced that it had abandoned Microsoft cloud services and fully migrated to the open - source platform Nextcloud.

Why are they starting to "de - Microsoft" on a large scale? The answer can be summarized into two keywords: uncertainty + risk spillover.

As the United States frequently uses sanctions, some organizations and individuals are directly cut off from US services, and bank accounts, cloud services, and software access may be restricted. Europe has gradually realized a problem: Have we entrusted too many key technologies to the United States? - If key infrastructure depends on the United States, what will happen in the event of a conflict?

Therefore, regarding the French government's decision this time, David Amiel, the French Minister of Digital Affairs, was very direct in his statement:

"We must get rid of our dependence on American tools and regain control of our digital destiny. We can no longer tolerate our data, infrastructure, and strategic decisions depending on solutions whose rules, pricing, development direction, and risks we cannot control."

Anne Le Hénanff, another minister in charge of AI, also emphasized: "Digital sovereignty is not an option but a strategic necessity."

Finally, when asked about this by the media, Microsoft, the developer of Windows, chose to "remain silent".

Reference link: https://www.numerique.gouv.fr/sinformer/espace-presse/souverainete-numerique-reduction-dependances-extra-europeennes/

This article is from the WeChat official account "CSDN", written by Zheng Liyuan, and published by 36Kr with authorization.